One-Step Synthesis of Chitosan Hydrogel as Electrochemical Chemosensor for Hydrogen Sulfide Detection in Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension Syndrome Serum Sample.

Oxidative stress caused by pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome significantly affects the health of pregnant women. Hydrogen sulfide is a typical gaseous signal molecule against oxidative stress, and it is of profound significance to develop a detection method. In this study, a stimuli-responsive hydrogel was constructed based on the coordination and bonding principle of metal ions and chitosan (CS) to realize the quantitative detection of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). The chain of CS contains a large number of amino groups and hydroxyl groups, which can form the coordination structure with Cu2+, triggering CS to form a stable hydrogel. The hydrogel can be formed within about 5 s, which has the characteristics of rapid preparation. In the presence of target H2S, the cross-linking agent Cu2+ in the hydrogel can compete out, resulting in the collapse of the hydrogel and the release of the electrochemical probe. By detecting the concentration of the released electrochemical probe, the quantitative detection of H2S can be achieved. The prepared hydrogel has a good linear relationship with the concentration of H2S from 1 µM to 60 µm. At the same time, the hydrogel has good specificity and stability, and it can be applied to the detection of H2S in serum samples.

Characteristics of reproductive tract infections caused by common pathogens among the outpatients of reproductive medicine center in Putian: retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to explore the infection and age distribution of Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU), Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Herpes simplex virus type II (HSV II) among the outpatients of Reproductive Medicine Center in Putian, Fujian Province to provide a clinical basis for the early diagnosis and treatment of various reproductive tract diseases and infertility in this region. METHODS: A total of 1736 samples of secretions and exfoliated cervical cells were collected from the outpatients of the Reproductive Medicine Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University from December 2021 to April 2023. The infections of UU, CT, NG and HSVII were detected by real-time fluorescence polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and the infection statuses of the patients with different genders, ages and diagnoses were analysed. RESULTS: Among the 1736 patients, 611 were male and 1125 were female. The male patients had higher UU infection rate but lower HSV II infection rate than the female patients. No significant difference in CT and NG infection rates was observed between the genders. The CT infection rate gradually decreased with the increase in the age. The difference in UU, NG and HSV II infection rates among the different age groups was not statistically significant. For UU infection, the male infertile patients had the highest rate of 37.72% (172/456). Meanwhile, the differences in CT, NG and HSV II infection rates among the different diagnosis groups were not statistically significant. Among the male and female infertile patients, the CT infection rate was the highest in the 21-25 years of age group at 11.11% (2/18) and 9.47% (9/95), respectively. No statistically significant difference in UU, CT, NG and HSV II infection rates was observed among the different age groups of patients diagnosed in relation to the family planning guidance and between the male and female patients with other diagnoses results. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that UU was the most frequently identified pathogen in infertile men in Putian, Fujian Province. The CT infection rate was the highest in people under 20 years old, and the infection showed a tendency toward young individuals. Therefore, the publicity of sexual health knowledge must be strengthened, and the prevention and treatment of venereal diseases among young and middle-aged people must be improved. Moreover, the pathogen infection is related to infertility to a certain extent, which is conducive to clinical diagnosis and treatment.

2,5-dimethylcelecoxib alleviated NK and T-cell exhaustion in hepatocellular carcinoma via the gastrointestinal microbiota-AMPK-mTOR axis.

BACKGROUND: 2,5-dimethylcelecoxib (DMC), a derivative of celecoxib, is an inhibitor of microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1). Our previous studies have demonstrated that DMC inhibits the expression of programmed death-ligand 1 on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells to prevent tumor progression. However, the effect and mechanism of DMC on HCC infiltrating immune cells remain unclear. METHODS: In this study, single-cell-based high-dimensional mass cytometry was performed on the tumor microenvironment of HCC mice treated with DMC, celecoxib and MK-886 (a known mPGES-1 inhibitor). Moreover, 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing was employed to analyze how DMC improved the tumor microenvironment of HCC by remodeling the gastrointestinal microflora. RESULTS: We found that (1) DMC significantly inhibited the growth of HCC and improved the prognosis of the mice, and this depended on the stronger antitumor activity of natural killer (NK) and T cells; (2) compared with celecoxib and MK-886, DMC significantly enhanced the cytotoxic and stem-like potential, and inhibited exhaustion of NK and T cells; (3) mechanistically, DMC inhibited the expression of programmed cell death protein-1 and upregulated interferon-γ expression of NK and T cells via the gastrointestinal microbiota (Bacteroides acidifaciens, Odoribacter laneus, and Odoribacter splanchnicus)-AMPK-mTOR axis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study uncovers the role of DMC in improving the tumor microenvironment of HCC, which not only enriches the relationship between the mPGES-1/prostaglandin E2 pathway and the antitumor function of NK and T cells, but also provide an important strategic reference for multitarget or combined immunotherapy of HCC.Cite Now.

High-risk Human Papillomavirus Infection in Putian, China: A Cross-sectional Analysis of 98085 Women.

OBJECTIVE: To assess high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection among women undergoing cervical cancer screening in Putian for establishing an optimal cervical cancer screening mode and preventive vaccination strategy for HPV. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of the Study: The Affiliated Hospital of Putian University for cervical cancer screening period, from August 2020 to December 2022. METHODOLOGY: Cervical cell specimens were obtained using 'two cancer screening platforms'. qRT-PCR and flow-FISH were used for hrHPV typing. The pathological diagnostic test was performed for the hrHPV-positive samples. The results concerning the relationships between hrHPV infection at different age groups and pathological diagnosis were analysed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 98085 hrHPV preliminary screening results in the Putian region and 9036 hrHPV-positive samples were included. The infection rate of hrHPV for the three infection modes increased with age. The 41-50 age group is the highest incidence which the phase from cervical intraepithelial neoplasia to cervical cancer. The top three hrHPV subtypes were HPV52, HPV58, and HPV16. The positive rate of HPV16 was positively correlated with the progression of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. CONCLUSION: Effective screening, vaccination, and education must be provided because HPV infections are district-specific and age-specific. HPV16 is correlated with cervical cancer progression. Pathological diagnosis and prevention of cervical cancer infected with HPV16 must be conducted. KEY WORDS: hrHPV, Cervical cancer, Pathological diagnosis.

The Role of Surveillance Inspections in Reducing False-Positives of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variants during the COVID-19 Epidemic.

Objective: This study aims to assess the effectiveness of surveillance inspections conducted by the provincial health committee in Quanzhou city during a COVID-19 outbreak in reducing false-positive results in SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assays. Method: The team conducted on-site inspections of laboratories that participated in mass screening, recording any violations of rules. Results: The positive cases in five rounds of mass screening were 23, 173, and 4 in Licheng District, Fengze District, and Luojang District, respectively. The false-positive rates in the five rounds of mass screening were 0.0099%, 0.0063%, 0.0018%, 0.0006%, and 0%, respectively. The study also recorded that the number of violations in the seven selected laboratories was 36, 68, 69, 42, 60, 54 and 47. The corresponding false-positive rates were 0.0012%, 0.0060%, 0.0082%, 0.0032%, 0.0060%, 0.0027%, and 0.0021%, respectively. The study found a positive correlation between false-positive rates and the number of violations (r = 0.905, P=0.005), and an inverse correlation between false-positive rates and the frequency of surveillance inspections (r = -0.950, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Daily surveillance inspection in laboratories can remind laboratories to strictly comply with standard procedures, focus on laboratory quality control, and reduce the occurrence of false-positive cases in SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid tests to some extent. This study recommends that government decision-making departments establish policies and arrange experts to conduct daily surveillance inspections to improve laboratory quality control.

Epidemiological study of HPV infection in 40,693 women in Putian: a population study based on screening for high-risk HPV infection.

BACKGROUND: The infection rate of human papillomavirus (HPV) is high in the coastal regions of China. However, the infection rate among high-risk genotypes of women in Putian City is unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the epidemiology of high-risk HPV infection among women in Putian and provide a reference for the diagnosis, treatment and vaccination of cervical cancer in this region. METHODS: The data used were obtained from the Chinese government's public health program ("Cervical and Breast Cancer Screening Project"). A total of 40,693 female cervical cell exfoliation samples screened for high-risk HPV at the Affiliated Hospital of Putian University from July 2020 to December 2021 were enrolled. DNA was extracted using a fully automatic extractor. Then, 14 high-risk genotypes of HPV were detected by polymerase chain reaction. The characteristics of HPV infection, distribution of high-risk genotypes, infection types and thinprep cytologic test (TCT) classification at different age groups were analysed. RESULTS: Among the 40,693 samples, 3899 were infected with HPV, with an infection rate of 9.6%. Accordingly, HPV infection rates gradually increased with age, and statistically significant differences were observed among age groups (χ2 = 74.03, P < 0.01). The infection rates of high-risk HPV52, HPV58 and HPV16 were in the top three and increased with age. Single infection was dominant (84.7%), followed by double infections (12.7%). The cervical cytology of 3899 HPV-positive people can be classified into negative for intraepithelial lesion and malignancy (NILM, 88.0%), atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US, 6.6%), atypical squamous cells-cannot exclude high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (ASC-H, 1.4%), low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL, 3.2%) and high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL, 0.8%). HPV16 infection rate increased with increasing severity of cervical cytology (χ2trend = 43.64, P < 0.01), whereas the infection rates of HPV52 (χ2trend = 13.89, P < 0.01) and HPV58 (χ2trend = 13.50, P < 0.01) showed opposite trends. CONCLUSION: The infection rate of female HPV high-risk screening in this region was 9.6% and mainly involved single infections. In addition, HPV16, HPV52 and HPV58 were closely related to the severity of cervical cytology. Effective screening, vaccination and education are needed. The 9-valent vaccine will be effective in reducing cervical pre-invasive disease. It would also be reasonable to state that the rising trend in HPV infection and high grade cytology with age emphasises the need to target older women with screening. Vaccination of younger women (aged ≤ 25) will lay the foundation for better cancer outcomes in the future.

Signal-on fluorescent sensor based on N-CQDs for the detection of glutathione in human serum and pharmaceutic preparation.

Nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) with citric acid and ethylenediamine as raw materials were synthesized by an efficient one-step strategy. The N-CQDs showed a special property that the fluorescence was quenched by Fe3+. The quenched fluorescence of N-CQDs could be recovered by glutathione (GSH). Therefore, a "signal-on" fluorescent sensor was developed to detect GSH. The fluorescent sensor could favorably avoid the interference of ascorbic acid, dopamine, glucose, oxidized glutathione, and other amino acids in the detecting process of GSH. The proposed sensor showed a great feature that GSH can be accurately detected in the range from 0.001 to 0.1 mol/L and can be applied to detect GSH in the human serum. Therefore, the proposed method has a promising application for monitoring the blood drug concentration of GSH in clinical studies.